Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/096,349

COMPOSITIONS AND METHOD OF MODULATING GROWTH FACTOR FUNCTION

Non-Final OA §102§112
Filed
Jan 12, 2023
Examiner
STOICA, ELLY GERALD
Art Unit
1647
Tech Center
1600 — Biotechnology & Organic Chemistry
Assignee
Case Western Reserve University
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
67%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 8m
To Grant
89%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 67% — above average
67%
Career Allow Rate
807 granted / 1211 resolved
+6.6% vs TC avg
Strong +23% interview lift
Without
With
+22.7%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 8m
Avg Prosecution
31 currently pending
Career history
1242
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
3.9%
-36.1% vs TC avg
§103
26.7%
-13.3% vs TC avg
§102
19.9%
-20.1% vs TC avg
§112
34.1%
-5.9% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1211 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §112
DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions. Election/Restrictions Applicant’s election without traverse of group III (claims 6-8) in the reply filed on 12/09/2025 is acknowledged. Claims 1-8 are pending; claims 1-5 are withdrawn from prosecution for being drawn to non-elected subject matter. Claims 6-8 are examined. Priority This application is a continuation in part of the of U.S. Patent Application No. 17/487,409, filed September 28, 2021 (now abandoned), which is a Continuation of U.S. Patent Application No. 13/350,402, filed January 13, 2012 (Now Patent No. 11,130,801), which claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/432,498, filed January 13, 2011. This application also claims priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 63/298,869, filed January 12, 2022. If during prosecution of the instant Application, the subject matter would drift towards: whether endogenous thrombin generation, if locally produced within ECs, might be mechanistically linked with endogenous C5a generation in ECs, and whether these linkages might participate in EC proliferation and angiogenesis or, whether the thrombin blockade abolished T cell proliferation as profoundly as the C3ar1/C5ar1 blockade, Applicant is put on notice that these issues are not present in the U.S. Patent Application No. 17/487,409, the priority of this Application would be recognized to the U.S. Patent Application No. 63/298,869, filed January 12, 2022. Claim Objections Claim 7 is objected to because of the following informalities: in line 2, the wording: “at an amount effect” is grammatically wrong. Appropriate correction is required. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b): (b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph: The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention. Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being incomplete for omitting essential elements, such omission amounting to a gap between the elements. See MPEP § 2172.01. The omitted elements are: Dosage of administration, administration regimen, route of administration and metrics for assessment of the effectiveness of the treatment. As such, the metes and bounds of the claims could not be determined. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action: A person shall be entitled to a patent unless – (a) the invention was known or used by others in this country, or patented or described in a printed publication in this or a foreign country, before the invention thereof by the applicant for a patent. Claims 6 and 7 are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yu C-D (U.S. Pub. No. 20050233966). Yu C-D discloses methods and compositions for treating diseases and processes mediated by undesired and uncontrolled angiogenesis by administering to a patient with the undesired angiogenesis a composition comprising a thrombin inhibitor, in a dosage sufficient to inhibit angiogenesis. In particular, the reference provides a method of treating angiogenesis-dependent cancer in patients by repressing the growth of tumors. The task is fulfilled by administration of desulphatohirudin or desirudin to a human or animal with prevascularized metastasized tumors prevents the growth or expansion of those tumors ([0012], [0018], [0026], claims 1-8 and 22-25). Thus, in the broadest reasonable interpretation, the claims 6 and 7 are anticipated by the reference cited. Claims 6-8 are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Green et al. (U.S. Pat .No. 6,593,291). Green et al. disclose compositions and methods effective in inhibiting abnormal or undesirable cell proliferation, particularly endothelial cell proliferation and angiogenesis related to neovascularization and tumor growth.. The compositions may be administered using a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. The methods involve administering to a human or animal the composition described herein in a dosage sufficient to inhibit cell proliferation, particularly endothelial cell proliferation. The methods are useful for treating diseases and processes mediated by undesired and uncontrolled cell proliferation, such as cancer, particularly by inhibiting angiogenesis. Administration of the composition to a human or animal having prevascularized metastasized tumors is useful for preventing the growth or expansion of such tumors (abstract). One of the conditions mentioned ins macular degeneration (claims 10, 15 and 22) the compound used is antithrombin (claims 5, 6, 19 and 14). Thus, in the broadest reasonable interpretation, the claims 6 and 7 are anticipated by the reference cited. Conclusion No claims are allowed. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ELLY GERALD STOICA whose telephone number is (571)272-9941. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-5 EST. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Joanne Hama can be reached at 571-272-2911. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. ELLY-GERALD STOICA Primary Examiner Art Unit 1647 /Elly-Gerald Stoica/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1647
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jan 12, 2023
Application Filed
Dec 22, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §112 (current)

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
67%
Grant Probability
89%
With Interview (+22.7%)
2y 8m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1211 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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